Meeting my Father's Girlfriend

[Neal Cassidy]

Neal hadn't been back here in this town too long, but, things with him and his papa had begun to get back on track. He knew that there was one other person he should probably talk to, if he really wanted his family whole again. That was the woman known as Belle. 

He hadn't known her long, but, he could tell that they both had one major thing in common. That was how much they loved his father, even if it took him this long to realise that he still did. Now that he had accepted his papa back in his life, he may take the time to bond with her properly.

After leaving Henry with his mother and grandparents, Neal made his way from his room at Granny's and made the short walk to the library which is where he had been told she worked and lived in the apartment above it.

He had stopped by the Diner on the way to pick up two cups of coffee, as a way to break the ice and hopefully start the conversation, which is already guaranteed to be awkward.

Neal hadn't met a significant other of either of his parents before, well, besides Hook, and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle this situation. Especially when they were the same age as him, at least physically anyway.

Soon he saw the library up ahead, and, Neal gently pushed the door open with the side of his body. Neal reached the front desk, and, placed the coffees down, as he looked around wondering if Belle was even in here.

Suddenly he heard a noise coming from a row of shelves not too far and he noticed Belle standing up on a ladder, and, struggling with some books. “Here, why don't you let me help you with those?” Neal said, as he smiled softly at Belle and took some of the books from the pile.

marymargaret

[marymargaret]

Belle loved children, even though she had none of her own. She would very much like to have one in the future, if it was in the cards.  When she learned of her boyfriend's son she'd been initially ecstatic.  Until a second later when she'd found out that he was already a grown man.  How was she to be a 'mother' to a man her age or older?  She supposed she could seek out Snow for aid, as she had such an issue with her own daughter.  There was a fear that he wouldn't take to her, or even resent her for usurping the role of his own mother.  

She knew how much Rumpel loved his son; the Dark Curse, the very curse that brought them to this land, was created so that he could seek his son out.  She only hoped that he liked her, at least for his father's sake.  She was debating on how to approach him to talk.  Somehow a family dinner seemed too traditional for the unusual situation they were currently in.

She was just exiting the tiny office behind the circulation desk in the library, where she'd been unpacking a new shipment of books, when she heard someone offering to help her carry the heavy box.  To her surprise Neal was before he, taking the box. "Thank you Ba- Neal," she corrected herself, unused to his 'new' name.  She heard Rumpel refer to him as his birth name so often that it was hard to associate the second name with him.